DVD Review: Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 6
Season 5 of Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis' Adult Swim Saga
Suffice to say that the world created by the subversive geniuses Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis is unlike any other yet unleashed upon the cable airwaves (with the exception of David Lynch's Twin Peaks, which strikes equally weird notes, if on an entirely different frequency). It is one that has repeatedly struck comedic gold in what seems to be their quest to upend everything society has long since learned to take for granted. Such is no small feat for a show centered around three anthropomorphic food items – a milkshake, a box of French fries and a meatball – living in a ramshackle house in New Jersey, but one needn't watch more than a handful of episodes to comprehend how very little concern the show's creators have for the taboo.
Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis Create World where Nothing is Off Limits
In this alternate dimension, nothing is off limits, and throughout four seasons of television episodes and one theatrically released film, it would appear that no stone has been left unturned – a feeling unfortunately reinforced by the wildly uneven fifth season now available on DVD (dubbed Volume 6 because the second season was divided between two volumes). Though hardly lacking in overall number of laughs or the stinging wit common to Aqua Teen, the season entire suggests a creation struggling to outdo itself and coming up short in the process.
For the first four episodes, the primary trio of Master Shake, Frylock and Meatwad – having been evicted from their home for reasons too amusing to spoil here – remained on the margins of the storyline, a brilliant creative choice that opened countless new exploration opportunities. Though central to its success, Aqua Teen Hunger Force has never been so much about these characters than it has been the nonsensical world in which they live – a deliberate hyperbolization of our own reality, and one that, like any great satire, inches closer and closer to the recognizable the longer one engages with it.
Aqua Teens is Uneven
Still, Aqua Teens present or not, this batch is as mixed a bag as there has ever been. Technically speaking, the show has never been better. By embracing the widescreen format first used in the feature film, Aqua Teen opens itself up to countless more opportunities to rip our cultural framework a new one, be it the lampooning of dumbed-down horror movies in the episode "Dummy Love" – a good idea that unfortunately never gets off the ground – or the more dramatically tongue-in-cheek compositions employed in "Robots Everywhere" and "Bible Fruit" (the only two episodes therein that qualify as instant classics).
Sadly, the creative juxtapositions that have long given the show its life force are in noticeably lessened supply here. Scenarios involving furries, serial killer wannabes and zombified animals feel more contrived than all-out crazy. Only time will tell if this is an innocent creative hiccup a la post-feature film exhaustion, or the initial signs of a waning talent that – if such proves to be the case – should step down after taking a much-deserved bow.
DVD Audio/Visual Specs
Combing has always been an issue with the Aqua Teen releases, but other than this minor annoyance the DVD image of Volume 6 is top-notch, with sharply defined colors and nothing in the way of edge enhancement. Audio remains fine, which essentially means that every line of deranged dialogue comes through with crystal clarity.
DVD Special Features
Four previously unaired episodes kick off disc two of this set, none of which are worth writing home about. A handful of episode commentaries are interesting for fans but pale in comparison to anything from the previous DVD releases, while a cheeky featurette on Radical Axis animation (the company that animates the show) is amusing, if too long for its own good. Here, you can also watch the video segments from the Aqua Teen video game (Zombie-Ninja Pro-Am, available for PS2), a handful of promo spots, and the flute advertisement used in an episode of the show. Tops, though, are Carl's impassioned sports blogs following a season of the NFL New York Giants, which are hilarious even if you've no interest in professional football whatsoever.
Aqua Teen Volume 6 DVD cover
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Aqua Teen Volume 6 DVD cover (detail)
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